IF Award 2009: Dr. Richard Bransford

The American surgeon Dr. Richard Bransford received the IF Award 2009 for his work at BethanyKids at Kijabe Hospital near Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. G.D. Agrawal, founder-CEO of Surgiwear, long-term supplier of shunts and other medical material to the IF projects, handed over the award at the plenary session of the SBA/IF conference in Orlando, Florida. BethanyKids Kijabe is performing around 2000 surgical interventions a year and has become the reference centre for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus for all Kenya. With a network of outreach clinics, Dr. Bransford developed good postoperative care and started lifelong support for children with Spina Bifida. Read more here .

Dr. G.D. Agrawal hands over the IF Award 2009 to Dr. Richard Bransford

Expansion of the IF network

At its General Meeting in Orlando, IF welcomed 3 new member countries, Colombia, Mexico and Serbia, with a unanimous decision of all members present or represented. The General Meeting also agreed on the board's proposal to change the statutes to allow a more sustainable rotation of the board. Hosting countries for the next IF conferences were chosen. After Dublin in 2010, the IF conference will be in Guatemala in 2011 and in Italy in 2012.

IF members at the General Meeting in Orlando, Florida, USA

Meeting with ASESBIH, Peru

ASESBIH , the Peruvian Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus based in Lima, is with its 380 members growing fast. They started a parent group of 15 families in Pucallpa, a city in eastern Peru. In Lima ASESBIH holds monthly meetings and runs a rehabilitation centre. They also provide shunts and CIC training. Mrs. Gilda Delmy Pino Diaz, secretary of ASESBIH, met with the IF president at Lima airport, where he was on his way to the IF conference in Orlando.

Mrs. Gilda Delmy Pino Diaz, secretary of ASESBIH, Peru

The power of digital storytelling

Abdulhakim S. Bayakub, chairperson of the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Tanzania, recently attended a workshop Digital Storytelling in South Africa. The workshop was organised by the Secretariat of the African Decade for Persons with Disabilities (SADPD) in partnership with APC-Africa-Women and Women'sNet. Digital storytelling is a very powerful tool for advocacy. The participants learned to tell a story in a three minute video that compiles audio and pictures. The videos can be used to make a difference in for instance health services, education and community awareness. Mr. Bayakub told the story of his 11-year old daughter Sajda, who has Hydrocephalus and lost her speech and eyesight. Through the internet digital stories can reach the general public, health services and policymakers all around the world.

Abdulhakim Bayakub during the workshop Digital Storytelling in Johannesburg, South Africa

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